Toleware Tray
c. 1941
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 40.8 x 30.6 cm (16 1/16 x 12 1/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 16" wide; 24" long
Classification
Index of American Design
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Index of American Design
Accession Number
1943.8.15218
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Toleware Tray*, vibrant watercolor and graphite rendering by Alice Cosgrove, around 1941. This meticulous 16⅛ × 12⅛-inch study captures the intricate beauty of an original 24 × 16-inch tin tray, showcasing the decorative folk art form known as toleware—lacquered metalware adorned with colorful motifs. Cosgrove's precise lines and luminous washes bring to life the tray's floral patterns and patriotic emblems, evoking the everyday elegance of American domestic life. As part of the Federal Art Project's Index of American Design (1935–1942), this work documents vanishing traditions du...
About the Artist
Alice Cosgrove
Alice Ericson Cosgrove (1909–1971) was born on February 16, 1909, in Concord, New Hampshire, the youngest daughter of Finnish immigrants Eric Ericson, a granite cutter, and Sophia Granholm. Encouraged by her father to pursue art from a young age, she graduated from Concord High School in 1925 and enrolled that same year at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, completing her studies in ...